The Names of the God of This World

How many of you have had an enemy? Just seems like somebody that's just out there to get you and for some reason, for some odd crazy reason, making you miserable just makes their day. You know, I can think back in my own life, just a couple have come to mind, I can think of their names, I won't share them with you, but I had somebody in junior high that just had it out for me.

For some reason, he had it out for me and he was going to make my life difficult every step of the way. Somebody in high school comes to mind. I don't know if any of you had those types of experiences at school or in life or at the workplace, but you don't get along with them. They don't get along with you. In fact, they don't like you. They don't want you around and they would love to make your life miserable, difficult, and have you suffer and be unhappy.

So how many of you have an enemy? It's a trick question because we all have an enemy. But how's that possible? Aren't we supposed to live a life worthy of our calling? Trying to live peaceably with all men? Well, yes we are. But the enemy that I'm talking about is not another person. It's not a man, it's not a woman, it's not a human being. And that enemy is very powerful and very successful and very intelligent with all sorts of tools at his disposal.

So the enemy that I'm talking about is one we've actually already touched on in the Beyond Today presentations that we've had already. I'm talking about the enemy, Satan the devil. Let's notice John chapter 12 in verse 31. John chapter 12 in verse 31. You know, a couple of weeks ago we talked here in Cedar Rapids about two kingdoms and that this Satan is the present-day ruler over the kingdoms of the earth, over the kingdoms of the world. But we talked about the fact also that there's a revolutionary kingdom to come. In John chapter 12 in verse 31 it says, now is the judgment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

So we, in a sense, you know, the Day of Atonement talks quite a bit about that, doesn't it? He's going to be removed. He's going to be taken away. He's not going to be able to influence anybody. He's not going to be able to deceive anybody. That day is coming.

Two days ago we rehearsed the Feast of Trumpets that Jesus Christ is coming as King of Kings to replace Satan the devil as the ruler over the kingdoms of the earth. There's going to be a changing of the guard. And a week from today we rehearsed the Meaning of the Day of Atonement. That God is going to turn his attention towards him. He's going to turn his eyes towards him. And he's the one that's the originator of sin and the blame is going to be placed on his head as we heard earlier.

And he's eventually going to be removed from ever being able to influence anyone ever again. You know, beginning with the removing of him at the beginning of the Millennials. For one thousand years he's going to be cast into a prison. He's not going to be seen. He's not going to be heard from. He's not going to be able to influence anyone. But for now he remains. He still sits on the throne, if you will. But who is he? What is he? And what do we know about him? And why is he our enemy? Today I'd like to try to address some of those questions as we go through the message today.

Because if we have an enemy we best know a little bit about him. To know a little bit about the way that he works. About the methods that he uses. You know, in warfare, they talk about knowing your enemy. Knowing the way that they work. Knowing the arsenals that they have in order to be able to address your enemy.

What kind of weapons does he have? What does he use? Because if we can know what they are, in a sense that's a good part of the battle. If we know the arsenal and the weapons and the methods that he uses, that is huge. And God shares some of that information with us in Scripture.

So we're going to cover some of those things today. So we go through the subject today and we're going to look at it from a little bit of a different perspective than you may have thought about or maybe in a way that we haven't considered before. But we're going to do in the time that we have left this afternoon is we're going to go through the names and the titles that Satan has. The names and the titles that he has because names mean a lot.

Names mean a lot. They tell us a lot about him. What's in a name? What's in a name? Well, to God, names mean a lot. Because God calls things what they are so that we can understand and know. He places a lot of significance on names and they often tell us a lot about the person, about the being that we're talking about. And let's take a look at a few examples, for instance, of the names and or titles of God.

Let's take a look at a few examples there. We have Yahweh or Jehovah, which means the Eternal, the one who was, who is, and who will be. And so that's one of the names of God, the one who is ever living. No beginning, no end, the Eternal. That's what Yahweh or Jehovah means. Another name for God is El Shaddai. You probably heard that over the years. El Shaddai means the Almighty God, that there is no other God with the power that he's got. He is the Almighty God. Another name for God is Yahweh Shalom, which means the God of Peace.

So this is a God that strives for peace, that tries to develop peace, that tries to construct peace. It's one of his names. He's the God of Peace. He's God of Peace. Yahweh Rohit is another name for God, which means God our Shepherd. So in a sense, he's a God that tries to shepherd and take care of sheep to make sure they're fed, to make sure they're watered. A shepherd cares for the sheep. And so that's one of his names, is God our Shepherd, Yahweh Rohit. What about Jesus Christ? You know, some people think of the word Christ as the last name of Jesus, but that's not what it is at all.

Christ is a title. Jesus means Savior. Christ means anointed one. So the name of Jesus Christ means Savior, the anointed Savior, someone who's been specifically appointed or anointed to save, to help. And so we see that names have a lot of meaning. We tend to think of Satan as just Satan or the devil, because those are the terms that we're most familiar with.

But you know, what does that mean? What does Satan mean? What does devil mean? You know, we may think we know what those names mean, but maybe we'll find out a little more. God uses a number of different names and titles for Satan, and each one of those tells us something about his character. It tells us something about his methods, and it tells us something about his goals. So today, let's go through some names and titles.

There's quite a few. And let's see what the Scriptures say about the names and titles of Satan. But before we get into those names and titles, there's one question that I think would be good for us to pose and think about, and eventually to answer, why should we learn about Satan? Why should we learn about him?

Why do we need to find out about him? Well, as was mentioned in the first message, or one of the messages that we had on the Beyond Today Daily, is that he's done a really good job of saying, you don't need to know about me because I don't even exist. It's just somebody's fabrication of their own mind.

It's just some fairy tale. He doesn't want us to know a lot about him, but the more we know about him, and Scripture reveals a lot, the more we can fight the battle that God says we're in and the war that we're in. If we know his arsenals, if we know his weapons, if we know his methods, that's part of the battle in dealing with an enemy. So let's turn over to 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2, why do we need to find out about him? Why do we need to learn about him and the way that he works?

That's partly explained here in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 in verse 10. We're going to see in this context here that Paul's addressing a situation back in 1 Corinthians. There was somebody that had sinned greatly. They had slept with their father's wife, committed a great sin, and would have been put out of the church.

We see here Paul is in a sense addressing that, but he goes on to say something that's important for us in the context of the message today. He says, now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. So the person that had committed the sin had asked for forgiveness, and then brethren were going to forgive, and so was Paul. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Brethren, are we ignorant of Satan's devices, his schemes, his plans, his weapons, and his tools that he uses against us? God doesn't want us to be. He doesn't want us to be ignorant of that, because he is a powerful enemy. And we when we know who and what that enemy is, and the weapons that he uses against us, then we are halfway there. Brethren, in this context, Paul is speaking to the churches here when he's saying we are not ignorant of his devices. I think we've all seen that just because we're a part of the church doesn't mean that we're immune to Satan and his influences. If anything, it seems like we are more of a focus. You know, when you've got a light in a dark place, the light attracts attention. You know, you put you light a candle or you turn on a flashlight in a completely dark place, he knows where we are. And so, in a kingdom of darkness, he wants to stamp out the light. So, if anything, we're much more of a target, and we have to realize that as well. And if we begin to become lulled to sleep and forget that he's around, to forget that he's active, and he knows that his time is short, and we've seen many people who are or who have become ignorant of his devices, as Paul has said. So, we don't want to be that way, and God reveals some of his devices in Scripture. Probably all heard the old adage, Know Your Enemy. Know your enemy. So, that's one of the purposes of this sermon, is to help us to know our enemy. His character, his goals, his methods, and his plans. So, let's talk about the very first name that he has that we're going to cover. There's several names and titles. This is number one. So, what does his names mean? The first name we're going to cover is Satan. That's the first name we're going to cover. What does that word mean? What does Satan mean? You know, it's actually a proper name. It's like we think of a first name like Joe or Fred or Sally or Sue or John. It's a proper name. In Hebrew, it's a name and it means enemy.

Adversary. Enemy or adversary. So, when I asked you earlier, how many of you have an enemy? We all do. Every one of us in this room has an enemy, has an adversary. It's him. He is our enemy. But that's not all that it means. It also has some stronger shades of meaning than that. And I think you'll find that interesting and revealing. According to a couple of concordances, young's concordance and strong's concordance, it can also be translated or can mean not only enemy, not only adversary, it can mean attacker. Someone that attacks you. It can also mean accuser. We talk about Satan. We talk about attacker. We talk about enemy. We talk about adversary. We talk about accuser. And there's one concordance that sums it up very concisely, I think. Hater. He is a hater. He hates. Satan is a hater. He hates God. He hates every one of you and me sitting here. He hates us. He hates God. He hates everything that God is doing. He hates the sons and daughters of God. He hates the church, which is Jesus Christ is trying to build. He hates what we will become, the destiny that we have. And he's doing everything in his power to stop that from happening. He'd like to destroy it. We'll get to that. It's another one of his names. And he'd like to cut us off from the future and the destiny that God has for us. It's as plain and as crazy and as simple as that.

Let's notice 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8. Peter, one of the leading apostles in the first century, he was very aware about Satan and was very aware of the reality of Satan. Let's take a look at what he has to share with us here. He knew that he was a real being that existed and that he was out there and that he was active and that he was at work against the sons and daughters of God. So let's take a look at what it says here because Peter warns you and me here in this context. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8. He says this, or he writes this, he says, Be sober, be vigilant. So in other words, be ready, be sober, be vigilant because you're adversary the devil. It's interesting he doesn't say our adversary. He says your adversary. It's kind of personal, isn't it? I think that's why Peter wrote it that way. He could have said our adversary, but he's saying that he is everyone's adversary, your adversary in mind. He walks about like a roaring lion. And you know, if you've ever been in a zoo and you've seen a lion and maybe it's angry or upset and you're thinking, I'm sure glad the glass wall is there. But you know, this is the way that he operates. He walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can destroy. Devour, eat, kill, destroy. And so Peter says to you and to me, he says, resist him steadfast in the faith and know that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. Peter is saying, we're not unique. He's after all of us. He's your adversary. He's my adversary. And the difficulties that sometimes he brings on that God allows, we're not unique. There are other brothers and sisters are going through some of the same things in the world. So here he's clearly called an adversary, clearly by Peter. And again, this is the meaning of his name or one of the meanings. Many, if not most of the versions or translations, actually translate this verse here. I don't know how your Bible does here. But it says, your enemy, instead of adversary, your enemy the devil. Does anyone have a translation that says, your enemy instead of your, okay, the subscriber, your enemy the devil, goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devolve. So we're warned. We're warned to be alert, to understand that he's there, that we're engaged in warfare, to be on guard against him. And one of the things that I hope will get out of the sermon is to acknowledge that and that will help us to be watchful and to be on guard and against not only him but the way that he works. Let's look at a second name for Satan the devil and that is the devil. So that's a second name and in the same verse actually in Peter here it mentions that Satan the devil is referred to as the devil, which is probably the second term we're most familiar with. We just think about that and going hand in hand, Satan the devil. So but what does the word devil mean? Because again it's adding a little more information here to who we're dealing with. What does the devil mean? Well the word translated devil in the Greek, I'm going to spell it for you. It's like about eight words or eight letters long. The Greek word is diabolos. I'm going to spell it for you. D-I-A-B-O-L-O-S. D-I-A-B-O-L-O-S. It's the same root word that we get the English word diabolic.

You see that in the Greek diabolic or diabolical, which means evil, wicked, sinister, diabolical. The Greek word is pretty clear. It means evil, wicked, or sinister. It can also mean that this word diabolos can also mean false accuser, false accuser, or slanderer. So there's a lot here when we talk about the devil, and it's not very good, is it?

It's all pretty rough stuff. Evil, wicked, sinister, false accuser, slanderer, saying something about someone that's not true, falsely accusing somebody of something that they have not done. So the word devil means false accuser or slanderer. And maybe in your own life you've had a time when somebody's falsely accused you of something or they've slandered you.

It's not a lot of fun, and usually the damage is done. You know, a lot of that is done in politics, and maybe I've mentioned this to you, maybe I haven't, but they know how it works when you slander somebody or you say something that's not true. There was some, somehow they tested this, but there was a man that was running for office, and I'm sorry I don't remember the details, but something was said about him that was untrue.

He had a certain approval rating, you know, prior to this coming out, and then of course his rating went way down. And then it came out later that what had been said about him was not true. His rating went back up, his approval rating, but it wasn't up to where it was before. So the damage had been done. And there's a reason why in politics there's a lot of mudslinging, because some of it seems to stick whether it's true or whether it's not true. And so this is the way that he works.

He slanders. He falsely accuses. And if you've ever been in those shoes, it's not a fun situation to be in. At all. It hurts. And sometimes it hurts a lot. Let's go over to Revelation chapter 12. Apparently he doesn't mind hurting. Revelation chapter 12. This chapter tells us a great deal about Satan, and it tells us about his history.

It tells us about his character. And it tells us about what he's going to do. And we're probably going to come back to it here more than once. So we'll start with Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. And this is one of the scriptures that was mentioned in Beyond Today Daily or BT Daily. Well, let's take a look and see what we can derive out of it here in the context of this sermon, because there's a lot here. Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. So the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan, so we see some of those names again, who deceives the whole world.

He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down.

So, brethren, we find here one thing that Satan is constantly doing is accusing. He accuses God's people, as it says, he accuses them before our God day and night, for he's been cast down. So we find that Satan is constantly accusing, accusing you, accusing us before God day and night, constantly criticizing everything that we do before God the Father to try to discredit us.

Let's look at an example of that, one that's pretty familiar back in the book of Job. Job chapter 1 and verse number 6. Job chapter 1, we'll pick it up in verse number 6, right before the book of Psalms. Job chapter 1. I see that Satan attacks Job's character. Let's take a look at it here.

This is an example of what he does. Of course, Job was a man of God who strived to do what was right. Job chapter 1 and verse 6, it says, there was a day when the sons of God, referring to the angels, came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, well, from where do you come?

So Satan answered, said, well, I'm going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth in it. So this is where he is. He's on the earth. Then the Lord said to Satan, well, have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and one who tries to avoid evil.

He shuns it, tries to stay as far away from it as possible, in other words. So here's how Satan answers God in regards to this statement. Does God, does Job fear God for nothing? You know, haven't you made a protection around him?

Haven't you put a hedge around him so that no one can harm him? Not only around him, but his household and all around on every side? You're protecting him. You've blessed the work of his hands and his possessions you've increased. You've just given him all of this stuff. You're protecting him, but now God, the only reason he does that is because you give him all of these things. It's not because he really cares for you if he loves you. You stretch out your hand now and you touch some of the things that he's got, you know? Stretch out your hand, touch what he has, and you know what? He'll curse you.

Job will curse you. I can tell you that. Well, Satan here is clearly accusing Job, isn't he? Before God. He's saying to God, he says, Job, you kidding me? That one that you're so proud of? Don't kid yourself. He's just like the rest of them, too.

He blessed everybody like that you've blessed Job. You know, they'd be on your side, too. Don't kid yourself. He's just like the rest of them. He doesn't really love you. He doesn't really fear you. He doesn't really respect you. By the only reason he obeys you is because you protected him, you blessed him, and you've given him so much. Just take away all of that and see how much he loves you. I guarantee he'll turn around and he'll curse you to your face. And, of course, those were just some of Satan's lies and slander.

He slandered the character of Job, didn't he? He slandered Job. Job still remained obedient despite all the things that happened, even when God allowed Satan to touch some of those things that Satan said if he touched.

God didn't do it, but he allowed Satan to do it. And so we see a little bit about an example, a little taste of some of the things that Satan is saying about you and about me before God. That's what he says about others behind their backs. Satan sometimes inspires others to say things about us. He works through human beings at certain times. But, you know, it goes the other way with Satan as well. It's not that he's accusing God's people. He also, in a sense, grossly misrepresents God to you and to me.

He misrepresents God. He's been very successful at that. Let's look at Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. He was successful at misrepresenting God to our first parents, to the first human beings that walked the face of the earth, Adam and Eve. Very cunning. Let's take a look at how he did that. Genesis chapter 3 verse 1. Genesis chapter 3 verse 1.

It says, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? No, God never said that. But he's saying, hasn't God said that you can't eat of all of these trees? God never said that. But that's what Satan said. Hasn't God said that you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Well, the woman responds. She's gonna straighten him out. And the woman said to the serpent, Well, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. So Satan's got it right where he wants it now. He's misrepresented God, number one, and now he's got the attention on this tree. See how cunning that was? He suddenly got her attention on this tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God said don't eat of that tree. She said, well, we can eat all of the other of the other trees, but we can't eat of the one of the knowledge of good and evil.

Otherwise, God says we'll die. The serpent said to the woman, you won't die. You shall not surely die, because God knows he's keeping something from you. God knows that in the day that you eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, your eyes are going to be opened and you're going to be like him. You're going to be like God and he doesn't want you to be like him. Knowing good and evil. Wow! Pretty cunning, pretty clever, pretty powerful.

See what we've got that we're going up against. What was Satan really saying here? What he's saying to Eve is this. Did God really tell you not to eat from that tree and that you would die if you ate the fruit of it? That really shows how much he cares about you. You can't trust him. He's trying to keep all the good stuff for himself. That's what he's trying to do. And he's trying to keep you kind of where he wants you, right under his thumb. He knows that when you eat of that tree that you'll know just as much as he does.

You can decide for yourself what's right, what's wrong, and he won't be able to boss you around any longer. He's just lying to you with this business about you surely dying if you eat of it. You're not going to die. He's lying to you about that. You won't die. He's just trying to scare you. I'll tell you what's really good for you. Take a bite of this fruit. Just one example that we can see how Satan lied about God and misrepresented God to Adam and to Eve.

You know, he spread mistrust, didn't he? He spread mistrust. He spreads mistrust and division between God and his sons and daughters. That's what he does. And between his people. Alright, so we've covered so far Satan. We've covered the devil as a couple of names and or titles.

Let's look at a third one. Let's turn over to John chapter 8 and verse number 43. John chapter 8 and verse 43. There is another title or name of Satan that ties in very closely with this and goes hand in hand with Satan being a slanderer and an accuser. We'll read about it here in John chapter 8 and verse 43. And Jesus elaborates on this a little bit more here. He's talking about, he's talking to some of the Jews who were antagonistic towards his teaching, the teaching of Christ.

And he says something to them here in John chapter 8 and verse 43. Jesus speaks pretty strongly in this context here. He says, why don't you understand my speech? Because you're not able to listen to my word. You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. Sometimes you wonder why Jesus doesn't speak his mind. He says, because you are not able to listen to my word, you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do, he was a murderer from the beginning.

So he was the first murderer responsible for the death of someone. And he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources because he is a liar and he is the father of it. It's quite a contrast between what Satan has called here and what Christ said about himself. Christ said it about himself in another place, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Satan is called a liar and a murderer, just the opposite of the truth and the life.

I mean, you couldn't be on any further ends of the spectrum here in this regard. Christ is the truth, Satan is a liar, Christ is the life, Satan is a murderer, the one who takes away life. It's one thing we should think about as we go through these scriptures. They show how that Satan is the exact opposite.

He's got names that are the exact opposite of Jesus Christ. It shows how they show that Satan is not only the exact opposite of God and Christ in their goals, in their intents, in their methods, in their purpose, and in their character.

God calls things what they are. Let's go back to John chapter 8 verse 44 in this context. I want to focus on the last part here. It says, and I think most versions translate that, that he is a liar and the father of lies. What does that title mean, the father of lies? What is the implication of that? It says here also that he was a murderer from the beginning. There's a couple of titles here, father of lies and murderer.

I think it's a reference back to Genesis chapter 3 when we talked about the phrase that he was a murderer from the beginning and the father of lies. It seems like, well, we know that the line probably started before Adam and Eve because he had a chance to dissuade some of the angels away from God. But we see here when it comes to killing or murder, it probably goes back to Genesis chapter 3, a reference here, when Satan deceived Eve and lied to her as a result of the lies that she and Adam sinned and death penalty was brought upon them.

Satan didn't physically lay hands on them and that, so to speak, and murdered them, but his actions led to their death. So he was a murderer from the beginning of the children of God, sons, fleshless sons and daughters. He was also a liar from the beginning. He started out lying definitely in the Garden of Eden, and he's been lying ever since. So from that standpoint, he's the father of lies among God's sons and daughters. You know, no one had ever lied before Satan had lied.

Lucifer was his name at that time, but no one had ever lied before Satan did. Think about that just for a moment. No one had ever lied before until he did. He was the first. He's also become one of the best. He's got more experience than anyone. The Bible doesn't say how or why the angels who joined up with Satan rebelling against God sided with Satan, but you can guess that he utilized some of the same principles they used with Adam and Eve. Hard to say how long it took, you know, to be able to sway them and to deceive them. He probably promised them some things like he did with Adam and Eve. He probably made some promises with great things that if they just follow him that they'd be able to have instead of following God. He probably imputed wrong motives to God just like he did with Adam and Eve when he dissuaded the angelic realm one-third of the angels to rebel against God. He probably imputed those same wrong motives to God and said, you don't always want to be under his thumb. Follow me and you'll experience real freedom. He's good. One-third of the angels. So here it says in John chapter 8 and verse 44, he's come to the point now that there is no truth in him. He's so much of a liar that there is no truth in him. He lies so much that he's incapable of telling the truth. And on those occasions when he does speak the truth, he mixes it with lies so much that the lie is still a lie. Makes it more believable, but it's still the lie. That's the bottom line. He's still lying. He's still deceiving. It's like mixing poison in a big bowl of fruit salad or chocolate cake. If you mix just a little bit of poison in the chocolate cake, you can add a lot of other ingredients, you know, that are good. But the poison is still there, so it's still poison if you eat it. You know, it may look good. It may look appealing on the outside, but on the inside it's still poison. Looks good, tastes good, but it's still poison. So Satan works that way too. He tries to dress it up to make it look good, but it's still a lie or it's still poison. Let's look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13. These are all important names and titles to help us to understand how he wears so we know our enemy. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13.

Paul talked about this over in this context here. He recognized what a master of deception that he is, and he warned God's people not to be deceived. He warned that Satan's deceit could even enter into the sons and daughters of the body of the church. God's called out people. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13. A lot of things were happening in the first century in Corinth. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 13. He says, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, that are transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and no wonder for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, but whose end is going to be according to their works. So there's no way to escape the judgment of God. But Satan is a master of making things look good. He's very good at that. In fact, he's probably one of the greatest marketing geniuses. He's an expert at packaging his wares and making them look so good that people will buy them. It all sounds good and looks good and it seems to be so appealing. Satan makes sin look exciting and enticing. He makes it look good. He packages it that way. It feels good. There's a jolt of good feelings. There's a jolt of pleasure that often goes along with what he's the wares that he passes along. He's not a fool in some ways. He's got a wisdom that's been corrupted, but he knows how to make it look good to get our attention, how to make us want his things more than God's things.

So we know a little bit of how he works. Let's go back to Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. We've already read there that scripture, but let's pull out a few more things that are there. Let's read about the impact of Satan's lies and his deception. I don't think we've really grasped, I don't think I have, the importance of what's being said here. This is at the end of the age where there's a war that's going on in heaven.

Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9. So it says there, so the great dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world. You know, there's one thing that we all really need to grasp about saying is this fact. He deceives the whole world. You know, and I don't know if I've really grasped that. I don't know if I've really understood the magnitude of what God is revealing to us about him in this scripture.

You know, I think in the past I've thought in too narrow of a term. You know, he's been deceiving the Buddhists. He's been deceiving the Hindus. He's been deceiving the Presbyterians. He's been deceiving the Episcopalian. He's been deceiving the Catholics.

You know, I think I've looked at it rather in a narrow view. None of them understand the truth and what we know. What the truth of God and what he's all about. But if you read through the book of Revelation, I don't think it's just the religions that are being talked about.

I think it goes a lot further than that. I think there's a lot more than just the religions that are gonna come crashing down at the return of Jesus Christ. I think everything, almost everything, is gonna crash down. We crushed and swept away and started all over again. I don't know if we'd realize just how far His tentacles have gone into every fabric of our society. You know, not just religion, but everything. This is a government. This is a system. This is a Babylonian system and He's the head of it.

You know, whether we talk about having His hand in governments or political systems or economic systems or educational systems or recreation or entertainment or media or information systems, every type of society and civilization that He has managed to build under His present tenure. Everything is going to have to come crashing down at Christ's return because it's all been built on a wrong foundation. It's been built on deception and lies. It's been built on His values, built to His specifications. You might say it's been built on the absence of guidance and direction from God.

Here in Revelation 12.9 it says that Satan deceives the whole world. Now that's... it doesn't say he deceived the whole world once and it's over. No, it says he deceives. It's, in a sense, past tense and present. He hasn't stopped. It says he deceives the whole world. That word is in the present act of tense, meaning that he started deceiving and he continues to see, deceive right up to this very point, right up to this...

our time today. What does deceive mean? We throw that word around. How would you define it? Deceives. You know deception, it means to cause, to accept as true and valid what is false and invalid. Okay, that's what deception is. To cause, to accept as true and valid, something that is false and invalid. You're trying to get somebody to believe in something that isn't true. It's false. It's not valid. It's what deception means.

So that's what he's doing in the present act of tense. It continues. It's active. It's ongoing. Deception. Building on the layers and layers and layers of the deception that he's already put out there. It just builds on itself. We can see in our own country how he started the deception and it's building. Even in our lifetime, we're seeing changes happen in our culture that are based on a foundation of falsehood, lies, and deception. Whoo! He's good at it. He's doing it in a generation. He's made progress. He laid some of these foundations a long time ago and then started to build on them.

In a sense, they're beginning to bear fruit. His type of fruit. Brethren, he's deceived the whole world in the past. He's deceiving it right now. He will continue to do so up and to the point of the return of Jesus Christ. Plain and simple. I think that's why Christ at his return is going to have to crush it. Sweep it away. His deception is powerful. Let's just notice we're here in Revelation 12. Let's go to Revelation chapter 20. Verse number 6. This again is a scripture we often read at the Feast of Tabernacles or Last Great Day.

It says here, blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power because they're going to be priests of God and of Christ and they'll reign with him a thousand years. But notice now when the thousand years have expired, Satan's going to be released from his prison. It's not going to be for very long, but it's going to be for a little while.

You'll hear he's been bound. He's been put into a prison for a whole thousand years. There's been no deception. There's been no influence of his for any of any kind. And we know what the scriptures talk about. How wonderful a time that's going to be. There's going to be peace. It's going to be like you can take a deep breath. He's gone. He's gone. It's good. The dynamics of that are going to change everything. There's been peace for a thousand years. There's been no war for a thousand. That's never happened in human history. There's hardly been any years that haven't had a war somewhere. No war for a thousand years. And then he's released.

You have to know, I would think, that if we're there, and I hope every one of us are teaching those fleshly human beings that are alive during that thousand year period, as being kings and priests working with Christ, teaching these people, that we're going to warm them that he's going to be released.

And there's going to be trouble.

A thousand years have expired and Satan is released from his prison. Verse 8, and what does he do? He hasn't learned any lessons. He'll go off to deceive. That's what he is. That's what he does. He goes out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth. He's going out everywhere. Magog and Magog, major nations, and notice what does he do? He gathers them to battle. It's time to fight us a war.

Whose number? Notice it's not just a few people that he deceives. It's as the sand, the number is as of the sand of the sea, God's way of saying there's a lot of them.

There's going to be a lot of people that are going to fall to his deception. Wow! A thousand years of peace in a short time there's trouble and deception and war once he gets out. So that's one of his names is deceiver. Let's go to a fourth one here. It's another title of Satan over in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 3. I'm going to have to move along here. I can see that.

Just pretend that that clock behind me isn't there. It's wrong anyway! Alright. I always have too much material, it seems. There's another title here that I think ties in very well and reinforces what we've been covering about how Satan deceives the entire world. But it gives a slightly different perspective to this. Let's look at it. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 3. It says, for even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing whose minds the God of this age has blinded. So the God of this age is one of his titles. G, but God of this age. He doesn't want anyone to see the light of the gospel. He wants that covered up. He doesn't want anyone to hear the gospel message. He wants it veiled to them. He doesn't want it to go out. The God of this age has blinded who do not believe. Lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. Now, the King James translates this. If you've got the old King James, it translates this, the God of this world. The Greek here is the Theos of this Eon. The God, in a sense, of this age. The small G God, the one who is worshiped in this age, this era of history, this particular age, this time period that now exists before it's going to be swept away, and there's going to be a new age. He is the small G God, the Theos, that's being worshiped in this age. It's not God's world, yet. It's not His world. It's not His society. It's not His civilization. It's not built on His values. It's not built on His laws. It's not built on His way of life. Yet, Satan has deceived the whole world, and he's built it on his ways and his values. It says here that Satan is blind at the minds of mankind during this age, so that they will not see the light of the gospel. So they won't believe in the message that God has sent through His Son, Jesus Christ. So they won't understand the truth, the reality of the Creator and what He's doing.

So instead, they'll worship Him. He wants to be worshiped.

Think about your own reaction when you were first called. Think about that for a moment. Remember back then, wasn't it confusing in a sense for a while because of the deception that we were under?

It's like turning the world upside down. Wait a minute. All these things that I thought I knew, they're not what God's beginning to open my eyes to understand.

Okay, we've all been in those shoes. We've all been in those shoes.

You know, in a sense, we were brainwashed. It's all we ever knew. We were born into this culture, this age.

And then God looked down and said, if I open their eyes, they'll respond to the truth.

His age is going to end at the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The age of God's government on this earth. I can't imagine what that's going to be like.

Okay, let's go to a fifth one. The fourth one, if you didn't get that, was one of his titles was, he's the small G God of this world.

In a sense, he's the present ruler. He's being worshipped. His ways are being dispensed. That's kind of what I'm trying to cover there.

Okay, let's go to number five. Another title that is used of Satan that ties in with this is a phrase, the prince of this world. Also, the ruler of this world. It can also be translated.

And I'll just give you a couple of verses here for the sake of time.

Christ referred to Satan as, I think, the ruler of this world. Was it in John 12? We've already covered that scripture.

Where it says the ruler of this age is going to be displaced, cast out.

And then the other verse here you might want to write down is John 14 and verse 30.

So those two phrases, the prince of this world or the ruler of this world, is how he's referred to here.

We won't go into any more detail on that because I think it's been pretty well covered.

But it reinforces what we've covered about this being Satan's age at this time, not God's age.

So he has those titles at this time.

Okay, number six is another variation of this theme in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse number 1.

Ephesians chapter 2.

Verse number 1.

Let's tell us more about how Satan carries on his role and his position of a God, small g-god of this age.

How is he able to do this? How does he carry out his deception? How does he influence mankind the way that he does?

Well, let's see some insight here that Paul shares with us.

He says, So we see that Satan is the prince or the ruler of the power of the air. What does that mean?

Well, years ago, Herbert Armstrong said this. He used to compare this to a radio transmitter, where Satan always broadcasts his thoughts and his attitudes throughout the world.

You can't necessarily see what's on the radio, you know, the messages that's being transmitted.

But Satan works in much the same way. He broadcasts his thoughts, his attitudes through the air, throughout the world.

Sometimes we can't see them or conspicuously hear them, but they're all around us.

And we're bombarded with those messages. Sometimes it's obvious. Sometimes it's not so obvious. Sometimes it's subtle.

We see those messages, his attitudes, and we tend to be tuned into that frequency.

You may have heard there was an article about North Korea, and it talks about how their minds are guided.

They can only listen to very few stations, and it's all propaganda from their government. I mean, they hate us. They hate the United States. And it's all basically, you know, they pick the people that are on those programs, they pick the stations that people can listen to. There's political speeches, there's music, patriotic music, and it's the news from their communist perspective.

And it's all that they hear all day long. It's often the same way the way the Prince of the Power of the Air works.

We hear his message day in and day out all the time.

Let's go over to 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 4.

Paul discusses this principle. He recognized the influence of Satan. He knows that there is a battle for the mind.

2 Corinthians chapter 10, and we'll pick it up in verse number 4.

He said, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Again, we're in a spiritual battle here.

But they're mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. And that's a message in itself, but God has given us some weapons, some spiritual weapons that can pull down some of these strongholds of Satan the Devil. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. So in other words, they're spiritual, but they're mighty in God.

They're not carnal, but they're mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.

So God has given us part of the message of today is if we understand the way that he works, that can be part of our arsenal.

If we understand the enemy. These are important to some of these names and some of these titles that he has.

And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

So our spiritual warfare is in the mind and in the heart and in our intentions and our motivations and ultimately in our actions.

God says we've got the power with his spirit to bring some of these thoughts into captivity that we might have that he's influencing us with.

We could say, no, I'm not going to think that.

It's not according to God's ways. You do what he tells me to do.

We can bring those thoughts into captivity. We can control our thoughts and our minds and throw out those wrong thoughts and wrong attitudes that are contrary to God's way and his word.

And follow the example of Christ. We need to recognize those and sooner the better.

Instance would be better than waiting too long to realize where they're coming from, get rid of them and don't allow them to hang around very long.

Not to let them fester and lead us into sin.

Let's go to number seven.

One of the titles or names of Satan is The Evil One. The Evil One.

What kind of thoughts does Satan broadcast as Prince of the Power of the Air? That leads us to this title of The Evil One.

Surprisingly, found over in Matthew 6 and verse 13 as part of the Lord's Prayer. Of all places, we see one of his titles in the Lord's Prayer.

Let's go over there. Matthew 6 and verse number 13. Matthew 6 and verse number 13.

It may be an unusual place to find a title for Satan, but here it is. And this title too is very revealing. It says here, It says, In this manner therefore pray our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.

There it is. The Evil One. Deliver us from the Evil One. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

So here's one of his titles. The Evil One.

You know, I think the King James says, Deliver us from Evil. But in the Greek, there's actually a definite article there giving us the meaning of deliver us from the Evil.

Deliver us from the Evil, meaning a specific evil rather than just some ethereal or general evil that's out there.

Most translations translate this, deliver this from the Evil One, referring to Satan. They understand that what we're talking about.

But what does the word evil mean?

And we might think we know, but that's not a word that we actually hear very often or use very often.

We probably think it's something that's not good. But what does it mean? How can it... What are other synonyms for that word?

The word evil means immoral. That means without morals. It means and can be utilized as wicked.

Something that arises out of bad character or conduct or causing a discomfort.

Or something that's repulsive or something that's offensive or something that's disagreeable or something that causes harm or something that's pernicious or something that brings sorrow.

Something that brings distress. Something that brings calamity. Something that brings suffering. That's evil.

All of those are synonyms for the word evil.

So the Bible refers to Satan as the evil one. You could substitute, then, for the word evil. You could say, he's the immoral one.

He's the wicked one. He's the disagreeable one. He's the offensive one. He's the one who causes harm. He's the one who brings sorrow.

He's the one that brings distress. He's the one that brings calamity. He's the one that brings suffering. This is all what God is trying to tell us here with some of the names and the titles that he's given to him. The evil one.

And all of the connotations that go along with that title.

These are the fruits of Satan's ways and what he brings.

Let's go to number eight here. One of his titles or names is Temptor.

Let's notice over in Matthew 4 and verse 1.

We read of another title here that Temptor revealed here.

One of the methods that he uses against us and against all of mankind. He tried this method against Jesus Christ.

And as we'll see, it didn't work. Matthew 4 and verse 1.

Matthew 4 and verse 1, it says, When Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. So that's what he does.

And when Jesus had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry.

And notice, and then the Temptor came. That's one of his names. The Temptor.

Now when the Temptor came to him, he said, Well, if you're the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But Christ answered and said, It's written, You shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

How many of us are tempted on the day of atonement to have a drink of water?

Or to go down and have a big mac? All those flavors and sizzling hamburger and all the trimmings.

Well, Christ had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.

And what a temptation that would have been.

Christ had the power. He could have turned the water into wine. He did. He multiplied the loaves and the fishes. He could have turned those stones into bread. He had the power to do that.

Here he'd been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. You'd think he would have been tempted to do that. But Christ didn't. He didn't use that power to serve himself.

Let's continue to hear down in verse number 8. Again, the devil took him up to an exceedingly high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to them, All these things I'm going to give to you, if you will fall down and worship me.

And Jesus said, Away with you, Satan, for it's written, You shall not worship. You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

So he tempted Christ with all of these kingdoms.

Notice Christ, we talked about that a couple of weeks ago that Jesus didn't dispute the fact that he had the authority to give these things.

But put yourself in Christ's shoes just for a minute. Why don't you imagine this a little bit?

What Satan was offering Jesus Christ at this time was the opportunity to become the richest human being on the face of the earth, richer than Solomon, more powerful, having all the kingdoms, not just the Roman Empire, but all of the kingdoms of the world, including the Roman Empire.

Millions of people as his subjects, anything he could possibly want, you know, palaces, food, gold, silver, jewelry, anything. Everything that there was. How much of a temptation was that?

You know, consider that Christ knew the alternative that what he was going to be facing. He had seen people executed. He had seen people crucified before.

He knew the pain. He knew the agony of being put on a stake and slowly dying. He knew the prophecies.

He knew that his friends and his disciples would abandon him. He knew all those things. He knew he was in for a brutal beating. He knew all of those things. It would be a slow, agonizing death.

Given that choice, what would you and I have done?

Which of us could have resisted that temptation?

That's the temptation that Satan offered to Christ. Satan knows just the right buttons to push.

You know, he can package it and make it look good.

You know, I heard a slogan a few years ago, I can resist anything except temptation.

I've said that myself in humor. I can resist anything except temptation.

Well, that's one of the things that we have a problem with. And he knows that. And he is a tempter. He temps. He temps. It's one of his names.

All right, we've got to get on for the sake of time here. Let's go on to number nine.

Second Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14. We see another name. I'm going to have to fly through these here.

One of his names is Belial. We'll go ahead and turn to the Scripture here because that way you can see it, how to spell it.

Second Corinthians chapter 6 verse number 14. We find another name here. Paul uses it.

He talks about some things that just don't fit together because they're opposites.

Second Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14. Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.

So this is God speaking through Paul. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? There is no fellowship, in other words.

And what communion has light with darkness? There is no communion with light and darkness. They don't go together.

And what accord has Christ with Belial? So there it is, Belial. For what part is a believer with an unbeliever?

So this Scripture indicates opposites. Christ and Satan are opposites just as day and night and light and darkness.

Belial, the Hebrew word, means wicked, worthless, evil, destruction. These are all part of the meanings of the word Belial.

Number 10. We find two more names or titles for Satan here.

These also tell us a lot about him, about his character, how he works. Luke chapter 11 and verse 14.

Luke chapter 11 and verse number 14.

And he, referring to Christ, was casting out a demon and it was mute. So it was when the demon had gone out that the mute spoke and the multitudes marveled.

But some of them said he casts out demons by bails above, the ruler of demons. Bails above.

And the ruler of demons. Two more titles for Satan. Bails above.

Number 10 and number 11, the ruler of demons. There are two different names or titles that refer to him. Bails above literally means God of the Flies or God of Vermin.

What do flies signify? Waste, decay, those types of things. Disease, death, characteristics of what Satan's ways ultimately bring.

And he's the God of those things.

What does it mean to be ruler of demons? Number 11, ruler of demons. As we already read in Revelation chapter 12 verse 4, he's taken a third of the angels with him in his rebellion.

It says there he drew a third of the stars of heaven, referring to the angels, and threw them to the earth.

So apparently Satan was a super angel over a third of the angels and they followed him in his rebellion. They became demons. They became perverted angels.

Twisted by the rebellion against God. How many demons? I'll just refer to Daniel chapter 7 verse 9. Talks about the number of good angels surrounding God's throne. 100 million. 10,000 times 10,000. There's 100 million at least, if not more.

So if there's a third of those stars, that would be 50 million demons. So Satan is a ruler of this group. This rebellious group.

In some ways they're like mankind, unconverted mankind, reflecting his nature. Except for the demons, it would be worse. Let's go to number 12. The last name we'll cover, Revelation chapter 9 verse 11. I saved the worst for last because I think it sums up everything there is to know about him.

Here we'll read in the fifth chapter, the fifth trumpet, rather, before Christ returned. There's a massive army that goes out to destroy and to torment mankind, and this army has a leader, a spiritual general. Revelation chapter 9 and verse number 11.

It's Satan. Revelation chapter 9. We'll pick it up in verse 11. It says, And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless tit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon.

And in Greek, he has the name of Apollyon. So there are two different languages talking about the same meaning. In Hebrew, it's Abaddon, spelled A-B-A-D-D-O-N. It's here in the scripture. In the Greek, it's Apollyon. In the Greek, it's Apollyon. A-B-A-D-O-N literally means destruction.

Apollyon, my margin says, literally destroyer. Very much the same. So destroyer is one of his names, and destruction is what he does. So these two titles sum up maybe his character, his goals, and purposes more than anything.

And that's the end of the result of what he's striving for. So we see this great contrast between Satan, the destroyer, with God, the creator.

He destroys basically everything he gets his hands on.

Let's conclude, brethren, with one last scripture, Ephesians 6 and verse number 10.

Ephesians 6 and verse 10.

This morning, here, was appropriate in Paul's time. It's appropriate today. And we need to make sure we're hearing it because God gave it to us. In fact, I've given a whole series of sermons on the armor of God. I think it's important. Ephesians 6 and verse 10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. That's the only way we'll be able to resist him, to draw close to God, to put on the same armor that he wears, to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and we've seen today from his titles and his names, some of his devices, some of his wiles, his tools, his methods, his techniques. For we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness and heavenly places.

Therefore, take up that whole armor that you may be able to stand in the evil day and having done all, to stand. Brethren, the good news is that the King of God is coming. He's going to come, he's going to replace the present ruler of this age. But for now, he rules, temporarily for now. So let's take this information, brethren, about his names and his titles so that we understand how he works. And let's put on the armor of God. We know the way that he works. If we know our enemy, we can deal with that so much better. Let's put on God's armor, stay close to him, so that that great destroyer, the one who hates us, will not be able to put us down, but will be able to stand at the return of the Son of Man.